Showtime Executive Talks Future

On the day that Showtime announced it was picking up a series based on Jonathan Franzen’s novel, “Purity,” the network’s chief executive, David Nevins, made a few other announcements in a telephone call with reporters. Here are some highlights:

‘Homeland’ Returns in 2017

Showtime is employing a new strategy this year in which it introduces returning shows on a rolling, month-by-month basis. To wit: The new season of “Masters of Sex” will debut in September, “Shameless” comes in October and “The Affair” will start in November. As a result, “Homeland” is being pushed from its usual start time in the fall to January 2017. Mr. Nevins said that Showtime is also close to a deal to renew “Homeland” for three more seasons. When asked if he had any comment about the show’s future after its eighth season, he said there was no current plan to end the series.

And Why the New Strategy?

Mr. Nevins explained: “We now operate in an ecosystem where it’s easier and easier to sign up and turn us off. There’s a real premium on offering stuff all the time.”

He said subscriptions tend to flare up around premieres and finales, and this is a way, in theory, to keep more people engaged. Showtime, like its rival HBO, also has a stand-alone app.

‘Twin Peaks’ Coming Next Year

Mr. Nevins said that Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” revival will debut sometime next year. He would not confirm a date for the highly anticipated series but he said it was likely to come between April and June.

When Do People Watch Showtime Shows?

“Our shows tend to get 80 percent of their audience in some form of on-demand, delayed viewing,” Mr. Nevins said. In other words: The vast majority of Showtime programs are not watched live.

New Comedies

The premium cable channel has ordered a pilot featuring Jamie Foxx called “White Famous.” The show centers on an up-and-coming black comedian who is attempting to win over a broader audience. And Mr. Nevins announced that “I’m Dying Up Here,” a series about the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene with Jim Carrey serving as an executive producer, will have its premiere next year.